Small Project Grants

Staff members of LFCS may apply to the Laboratory for grants of up to £5000 to fund specific small projects.

Scope

Any area or project will be considered so long as it enhances the research portfolio or environment of LFCS. As such, proposals for support should be aimed at providing benefit for the Laboratory as a whole. The fund is not a way to top up existing grants or to fund a short-term staff contract bridging between grants. The following are some examples of the type of projects envisaged.

Specific equipment purchases, such as audio-visual aids.
Hiring contract staff to provide a specific implementation of a theoretical idea.
Supporting visitors to LFCS.
Maintenance and development of software distributed by LFCS.
Developing a novel idea which is too early in development to approach the funding councils.
Promoting LFCS interactions with other parts of Informatics, the University, or external organisations.
Publicising or promoting LFCS projects.
Underwriting risk, say for hosting workshop that might not break even.

Applicants might also consider the University of Edinburgh Campaign, which runs a similar scheme of small project grants.

Criteria

The following criteria must be met.

LFCS as a whole must clearly be shown to benefit.
Where appropriate, alternative sources of funds must have been sought.
Funding requests may not exceed £5,000 for any one project.
The applicant must be a staff member of LFCS.

Applications are assessed by the LFCS Director.

Procedure

Intending applicants should contact the LFCS Deputy Director in the first instance.